A throng of news media stand ready as they wait for the crew of Atlantis to emerge from the Operations and Checkout Building where they will enter the infamous Astrovan, which will take them to Pad 39A and their waiting spaceship, Atlantis. The modified Airstream Astrovan has only one job–that of transporting the astronauts to the launch pad. The current Astrovan has been in service 24 years.